The 2018 campaign has largely been a rousing success for the office technology dealer universe, aided to some degree by a healthy economy (the December stock market swoon notwithstanding). Beneficial though it may be, dealer growth is always tempered by the need to have an infrastructure that can handle the uptick.
Take Impact Networking, for example. The Lake Forest, IL, dealer has enjoyed a 135 percent growth in revenues during the past three years. On the flip side, Impact has been tasked with scaling its systems at such a rapid pace. That entails expanding the employee base and ensuring the expanded family still represents the corporate culture that has been established. That also means ensuring this base has the key skill sets to maintain and grow the competencies of employees while delivering a level of customer service that represents the reputation Impact has attained among its clients.
“As the company grows it is more difficult to find the best employees in the business, but the resources we have poured into recruiting are proving to be successful,” the dealer reported. “Additionally, the investment in our new training program is key to controlling growth. As Impact continues to diversify solutions, it is critical that every employee is trained to have the knowledge needed to sell the products and solutions.”
Single-digit growth may be acceptable from a manufacturer’s standpoint, Advanced Imaging Solutions (AIS) of Las Vegas notes, but an independent business cannot survive on that limited degree of growth. Having a forward-thinking, innovative organization is essential, and AIS constantly challenges itself to push past the rest of the pack.
“Customers are educated more now than ever, they have more technology partners and choices than they ever have had,” AIS wrote. “The question is, what value do you bring to them, can they look to you to deliver more than ink on a page and truly become the valued technology partner they need? At AIS, we believe we can.”
Fertile Ground
One of the greatest tasks confronting dealers is the ability to grow its aftermarket pie as page volumes decrease, according to James Imaging Systems of Brookfield, WI. That entails seeking out the customer segments that are ripe for opportunities.
“We are getting more aggressive with net new volume and attacking the vertical markets that continue to grow,” the dealer reported.
The Swenson Group of Livermore, CA, points out that most organizations are concerned about declining print volume. The dealer finds monochrome print volume to be flat, but color volume and overall service revenue continues to thrive.
“The direction of the industry seems ‘murky,’ to say the least, but we believe by being flexible, nimble and willing to change, we are well positioned to grow and thrive as the industry continues to evolve,” The Swenson Group reported.
With a compression of margins on hardware and service, Les Olson Company of South Salt Lake, UT, is combating the trend by increasing its marked share of IT services that have better margins. The dealer is also looking to alternative, compatible supplies to lower customer prices while keeping Les Olson competitive.
“We also are constantly looking for ways to adapt our business into other profitable areas, which is another reason we are increasing our services we provide within the IT market,” the dealer added.
Selling Service
Price compression is also a significant challenge for WCC Business Solutions of Clearwater, FL. That is why the dealer has emphasized raising its technical service component to the next level, mindful that customers are typically willing to dig deeper when they receive superior service.
“We have basically rewritten our entire customer service proposition and we believe that customers will pay a little more to get superior service,” WCC wrote. “Our track record and testimonials have proven this to be true.”
It stands to reason that the best way to chart a path of growth is to align one’s organization with the right partners for hardware, software and solutions. Mid Ohio Strategic Technologies of Columbus, OH, is tasked with finding the right vendors, particularly in the software and solutions space.
“We want to be sure that we are maximizing the opportunity we can present to our clients not only today, but also moving forward into the future,” the dealer wrote.
